I registered to vote, but the poll worker says I'm not on the list of registered voters

Your rights

All voters are entitled to a provisional ballot, even if they are not in the poll book.

After Election Day, election officials must investigate whether you are qualified to vote and registered; if you are, they must count your provisional ballot.

What to do

Ask the poll worker to double check for your name on the list of registered voters.

If your name isn’t there, ask if there is a supplemental list of voters (sometimes, voters who register closer to Election Day are placed on a supplemental list of registered voters).

You may also request that the poll workers check a statewide system, if one is available, to see if you are registered to vote at a different polling place.

If they still can’t find your name, ask for a provisional ballot.

Additional information

If you are turned away or denied a provisional ballot, you can call the Election Protection Hotline (1-866-OUR-VOTE or 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA) and the U.S. Department of Justice Voting Rights Hotline: 800-253-3931; TTY line 877-267-8971.

You can also contact your county clerk, elections commissioner, elections supervisor; or your state board of elections.

I need accommodations for my disability or limited English proficiency

Your rights

Under federal law, all polling places for federal elections must be accessible to disabled and elderly voters, or must provide alternate means for casting a ballot on the day of the election.

Under federal law, all limited English proficiency voters and voters with disabilities may obtain assistance in voting from a person of their choice, as long as this person is not the voter’s employer, or an agent of the employer or of the voter’s union.

In some places (those covered by Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act), trained bilingual poll workers must be available to provide assistance in the relevant language, and ballots, written forms, and information relating to the voting process must be available in the covered language.

All polling places for a federal election must have at least one voting system that makes voting accessible in a private and independent manner to voters with disabilities.

Voters with disabilities cannot be turned away from the polls because a poll worker thinks they do not have the capacity to vote.

What to do

If possible, bring a family member, friend, or other person of your choice to assist you at the polls. Don’t bring your employer, or an agent of your employer or union.

Tell the poll workers that you have chosen this person to assist you with voting. You may be required to swear under oath that you have difficulty speaking, reading, writing, or understanding English and have asked this person to help, and the person helping you may be required to sign a form swearing that they did not tell you how to vote.

Request oral assistance from a bilingual poll worker if you have questions, and ask for voting materials, such as your ballot, in your language. (Note: Not all jurisdictions and counties require polls to provide bilingual voting materials or language assistance.)

Other forms of harassment, particularly harassment targeting non-English speakers and voters of color.

Your rights

Federal law, and many states’ laws, prohibit voter intimidation. Federal law makes it clear that it is a federal crime to “intimidate, threaten, [or] coerce … any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of [that] other person to vote or to vote as he may choose.”

What to do if you experience voter intimidation

In many states, if your qualifications to vote are challenged, you can give a sworn statement to the poll worker that you satisfy the qualifications to vote in your state, and then proceed to cast a regular ballot.

You can report intimidation to the Election Protection Hotline by calling 1-866-OUR-VOTE or 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (en Español).

You can also contact the U.S. Department of Justice Voting Rights Hotline: 800-253-3931; TTY line 877-267-8971

Reach out to local and state officials, including poll workers; your county clerk, elections commissioner, elections supervisor; or your state board of elections.